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Easter 2003 was going to be different. Tony, Tim, Steve, Peter, John and myself were going to do the one way trip from Antibes to Rome in a week. The preferred route was north of Cap Corse to Macinagio, on to Elba and then south to Rome stopping at any one of several ports on the way.
08 40 on Palm Sunday and Compromis motored out of Antibes in bright sunshine. Tim recorded in the Log that the band in the nightclub was JASPA and no one appeared to have a hangover. He served cereal and porridge for breakfast and all morning we were able to lay our course and make fair speed in a gentle breeze. Several Risso’s dolphins lazily crossed our stern, Tony saw a couple of sunfish and a whale blew half a mile off the port bow. This area some 10 to 20nM south of Antibes always seems to have the most wildlife.
Thank you Aeolus for such a morning but by mid-afternoon he was up to his old tricks. The wind went into the east and After a lay day in Calvi the sun shone but the wind was up and in the north east giving an unpleasant beat up the west coast of Cap Corse but as we reached the top there was a big wind shift allowing us to reach across the top and down into Macinagio.
Our departure was going to present problems. For a start the windlass hand control wouldn’t work but fortunately the backup switch in the cockpit did. Compromis was moored stern to the wall with 30m of anchor chain out over the bow and a stern line well up to starboard stopping the fresh southerly breeze from blowing us down onto the French yacht to port. Just casting off and winding in the anchor would see us swept down onto his anchor chain. Winding in on the anchor chain before letting go the starboard stern line however, pulled us up to starboard and I motored out easily. Tim started to wind in the rest of our chain but despite the best efforts of the brand new electric windlass the last 8m refused to budge. A committee of five assembled on the foredeck looking down at the taut chain and I stood at the wheel awaiting news. They told me to motor ahead. They told me to motor astern. They pulled and grunted but the CQR had hooked itself on some ground tackle and was going to stay there. By now crews from the other boats were on their foredecks fearful that we would pull their anchors out. Young John came to the rescue. He took a metre loop of chain from the end of a mooring line, put it around the vertical anchor chain and using a stout line lowered it down until it was round our anchor stock. Reversing downwind we paid out both anchor chain and the stout line. I then turned the boat through 1800 and reversed upwind until we could haul on our new trip line and out popped the anchor. With our honour, and a diver’s fee, saved we left just forty minutes late. As we motored south I put my hand up to the mistake. Having cleared the Frenchman’s anchor chain I put the engine into neutral and once the anchor broke out it could have dragged into the ground tackle before it cleared the bottom. It may have been of course, that the anchor snagged on the tackle the night before when we laid it.
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All the crew bar Peter were experienced sailors and Tony and myself experienced enough by now to refuse the invitation to a late night pub. I have no doubt that Peter’s enthusiasm for Antibes’ nightlife contributed to his rough passage the next day.
increased as did Peter’s discomfort so it seemed sensible and humane to put into Calvi.
Wednesday brought the Mediterranean experience. The wind was gentle, the sea was flat and the dolphins came to play and we spinakered to Marina di Campo on the south west corner of Elba.
Maybe 189 years ago at 07.20 on 17th April 1814 Napoleon sat on this self same sea wall and watched the same sunrise over Elba contemplating his departure. Marina di Campo is only a few miles from Napoleon’s. Did his crew find the same bar as mine had done and did he retire early as I had done only to wake to find them still in the arms of Bacchus? The morning was crisp and bright so I took my time over coffee before waking the crew. For Napoleon, Waterloo beckoned to the north but for me it was south to Rome.